Join the CEO Shutdown to show we will not be cowed by Citi's anti-protest policing

Citibank, the biggest funder of new fossil fuel expansion in the world, has been lashing out at lawful, peaceful protest and we’re taking our complaint right to the CEO – Jane Fraser.

We’re half of the way through the Summer of Heat — our 12 week campaign of non-violent direct action to stop the money pipeline that’s fueling the climate crisis. We’ve taken action more than a dozen times at Citi’s HQ. More than 2,500 people have participated and roughly 350 have been arrested. But until last week, everything had been mostly peaceful.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that things escalated during the “Wall Street stop funding death” week, when we confronted Citi directly with their funding of war, apartheid, genocide, and the fossil fuel companies profiteering off death. But last week was the first time we heard death threats from Citi employees; and it was the first time Citi security staff used trumped up charges and false statements to law enforcement to try and get key organizers banned from protest, or slapped with multi-year prison sentences.

We will not let threats of violence, jail, or further escalation deter us from taking action. So we’re planning two important ways for everyone to stay in the struggle with Summer of Heat, and step up their activism in response to these latest attacks.

Here’s the plan for Saturday: We will meet at Citi’s headquarters at 11am. From there, we will march to the CEO’s building where we will stage a noise protest and occupy the street outside. We’ll have kids and dogs and people of all ages, races, and orientations with us and, as always, we will make it very clear that we come in peace, with no violence or weapons of any kind.

But in love and rage, we will go the CEOs home because climate chaos has already visited so many of our homes and communities. And until Citi CEO Jane Fraser changes the way her bank funds fossil fuels, conflict, and climate chaos it will keep happening. And so we must keep showing up. We fully expect that the police will arrest many people for the crime of speaking out and speaking truth to power. But the climate crisis necessitates this type of extraordinary action. And our Summer of Heat team will work carefully and diligently to make sure every person’s rights are respected, that you are safe from harm, and that you are supported through whatever legal and courtroom antics Citi tries to silence us.

I know it’s an extraordinary step to take our campaign to someone’s home. And it’s not one that we take lightly. We have asked Citibank to end its support for fossil fuels for years. We have sent petitions, written letters, published reports, mobilized customers, and supported shareholder resolutions. In September, we shut down their global headquarters. In April, we did it twice. Since June 10th, we have done it more than twelve times.

And still, Citi is one of the world’s largest funders of fossil fuel expansion. So we’re taking our demands to the doorstep of the person with the most power to end Citi’s financing for fossil fuels: The CEO.

Whether you’re ready to take civil disobedience with us, or you only want to participate in the family-friendly march, there is a role for everyone in this action. Join the rapid response call on Wednesday if you have questions or want to get up to date on the latest. And make a plan to join us for the CEO Shutdown on July 27. If you can’t make it next Saturday, but you still want to help, you can also use this social media toolkit to spread the word.

Join the CEO Shutdown to show we will not be cowed by Citi’s anti-protest policing

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